Los Angeles (AFP) – Brian Elliott made 34 saves as the Philadelphia Flyers thumped the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 to level their Eastern Conference first round series on Friday.
Elliott produced a masterful goaltending performance to keep the Stanley Cup champions at bay as the Flyers responded brilliantly following a 7-0 drubbing in game one.
It was a personal triumph for Elliott, who leaked five goals from 19 shots in the series opener before being yanked in the second period.
At the other end, Flyers star Sean Couturier contributed a goal and two assists as Philadelphia silenced Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena.
Shayne Gostisbehere, Travis Konecny, Andrew McDonald and Nolan Patrick were the other scorers for the Flyers, who effectively shackled Penguins ace Sidney Crosby.
Pat Hornqvist reduced the deficit for Pittsburgh in the third period to make it 4-1, but MacDonald’s late effort completed an emphatic win for Philadelphia as they head into game three on Sunday with the series level at 1-1.
Elsewhere Friday, the Winnipeg Jets opened up a 2-0 series lead after romping to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild in Winnipeg.
Patrik Laine and Tyler Myers each contributed a goal and an assist while Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp both scored as Winnipeg took a stranglehold on the series.
Zach Parise scored a late consolation for Minnesota.
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